Local News

The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 34 and American Legion Post 34 will host a 3 p.m. Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 25 at the fairgrounds, said Shirley Thornberry, the Auxiliary's first vice president.

"The service is in remembrance of our fallen men and women who lost their lives in all of our wars," Thornberry said.

Thornberry said crosses, which bear the names of military members from Anderson County and the wars in which they fought and died, would be erected at the fairgrounds.

As the results of the primary election were read Tuesday night at the Anderson County courthouse, it was clear that Kent Stevens had won every precinct in the county.

Not long after that, Stevens heard he had won the seat for the Kentucky State Representative in the 55th district by just more than 1,000 votes.

Stevens won the race with 55 percent of the vote, carrying Spencer and Anderson counties. In Anderson County alone, he won 79 percent of the vote. Incumbent state Rep. Milward Dedman carried Mercer County, getting 45 percent of the overall vote.

At least three things have remained constant at Emma B. Ward Elementary since its doors opened in 1975 - Geri Reinle, Karen Allen and a painting of Ms. Ward herself. And those three things will be a part of the new Ward elementary school when it opens this fall.

In his native Ohio, Doug Garland was accustomed to stopping at drive-through convenience stores on those occasions when he needed to pick up beer, liquor or other snacks. However, when he moved to the Bluegrass about two years ago, he found he needed to change his ways, as such stores didn't seem to exist.

"It's very common where I'm from," Garland said. "When I came down here, I kept looking for one, but people didn't even know what they are.

The old saying that someone is "as strong as an ox" might be an understatement Saturday when the inaugural Beast of the Bluegrass strongman competition is held in the pavilion at Eagle Lake Convention Center.

To win one of the four divisional designations of Beast of the Bluegrass, competitors will be required to compete in five different events.

In addition to a first place trophy, winners will also receive an invitation to the North American Ameteur Strongman National competition to be held in Utah this fall, according to event organizer Davey McCann.

Eighth-graders from Anderson County Middle School are exercising their First Amendment rights as a class project. Two eighth grade social studies classes will be holding a peace rally at 10:15 a.m.Wednesday on the courthouse lawn.

The idea for the rally came from social studies teacher Lisa Petrey-Kirk's classes when they were studying the Constitution. Petrey-Kirk, who is also president of the teacher's association, said to give the students an idea of how First Amendment rights have been used in history, she had them study the 1960s and the protests that occurred then.

At Monday evening's city council meeting, Lawrenceburg Mayor Edwinna Baker proudly proclaimed in her annual State of the City address that the city "was able to stay within the confines of the 2007-2008 budget" and that she planned to do the same for the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

She added that no tax increase is planned, but it is possible that water rates might have to be increased "down the road in order to meet the requirements of our bonding company."

Saturday's truck tug in Anderson Community Park drew a crowd of over 500 people and raised an estimated $3,000 for Anderson County High School's Future Farmers of America, one of the tug's organizers said.

The tug, which kicked off the spring season for the Kentucky Truck Tuggers, was a huge success, said Tuggers spokesperson Melanie Wiley.

"It went really, really great," she said. "The weather turned out perfect."